Savior of the Wastes
by IncredibleMeatza420
Summary: When her father leaves the safety of the vault, Eleanor must follow in his footsteps. She'll go to drastic measures to cope with the outside world. She'll meet new people and new places she'd never dream of going to. What will she do with her time outside the vault?
1. Growing Up

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><p>Chapter 1: Growing Up<p>

The lights were way too bright for such a small area. I know that the vaults lighting systems were supposed to mimic sunlight but none of us even know what sunlight looked like. None of us even knew when grass looked like in person. Was there even any grass left in the world?

"Turn the lights on slower, you blinded the poor kid." Apparently there was a surprise birthday party for my tenth birthday. Not much of a surprise. I overheard dad talking to Amata last week about a birthday cake. What else would a birthday cake be needed for?

"Happy birthday, kiddo. Already ten years old. My, have you grown. Your mother wou..."

"Hey there, young lady," interrupted the Overseer. "It's your tenth birthday. You know what that means: your very own Pipboy 3000. You'll be getting your first job assignment starting tomorrow." He laughed at his own joke. "I'm just kidding. That will be according to what you make on the G.O.A.T."

"Thank you" I said as I fumbled with the Pipboy.

"Here, let me help, sweetie." Dad said, reaching for my arm.

"No, no, no, I got it. I'll figure it out." He sighed as he watched me drop the device on the floor.

I heard Stanley yell "Hey, missy, be careful with that. I programmed that myself!"

"Thank you for the Pipboy!" He grumbled in response. Dad sighed.

"Just as stubborn as your mother." I stared at the ground. "I'm sorry, daddy."

"Sweetie, I didn't mean it as an insult. I'm sorry if it seemed like one." Amata came over and asked if I enjoyed the party and if I was surprised. Dad looked at me for an answer and I didn't have the heart to tell them I knew, so I swallowed the truth and said "not at all."

"Well, here's another surprise. Guess what I got you for your birthday. Go on guess."

"Is it a date with Freddie Gomez?" Officer Gomez chuckled from behind us. He knew I liked his son. I wonder if he told Freddie. Oh gosh, I hope not.

"Ew, I didn't know you liked boys! And no, it's Grognak the Barbarian issue #1." She said in disgust.

"What's that supposed to mean, Amata?" She looked at me in surprise. "I thought you liked girls?" she replied.

"Why would you think that? Is it because I have short hair?" I spit out with narrowed eyes.

"Well, yeah. Everyone thinks that." I hate when she acts like this. To be honest, I don't even like Amata. The only people I like my age are Paul and Freddie.

"Whatever." I said, blowing it off. I'll deal with it later. It's my birthday party. Old Lady Palmer seemed to be wanting my attention.

"Yes, ma'am?" I asked politely.

"My, you're getting so old. Believe it or not, I was ten once. That was so long ago. Back when I was a girl, the vault was practically crowded. Not like today. I was surprised when the Overseer let you and your dad... Oh my, look at me rambling. Here's your present: one of my very own, homemade sweetrolls. And because it's your birthday, you don't have to share."

"Thank you Mrs. Palmer." I said and walked over to the counter with the cake. Andy was about to cut it when a clunk noise was heard and his saw crushed the cake.

"I am mortified by the cake mishap. Simply mortified." Andy said sympathetically. That makes two of us.

"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry about the cake." Dad looked so depressed.

"It's okay, dad." I said trying to see if that would make him feel better. I think he was more upset than I was.

I turned around to come face to face with Butch, the Vault Asshole. "I'm hungry, and that stupid robot destroyed the cake. Gimme that sweetroll that Old Lady Palmer gave you."

"I'm sure your hungry. I mean, who wouldn't be if they're mom drank all the food rations away. Go soak your head, Bitch... Oh, I'm sorry. I meant to say "Butch"."

"You're gonna regret that. No one talks about my mom like that except me."

Next thing I know, Butch and I were in a full out birthday brawl over a sweetroll. I was pinned to the ground and he was swinging at my face. I kneed him in the groin and slipped away and threw my elbow down on his back. Dad and Paul intervened grabbing and pulling us apart.

"What has gotten into you, Eleanor?" I was still shaking with the adrenaline.

"It was Butch's fault. He tried to take my sweetroll!"

"She's lying! She just hit me for no reason.!" Butch yelled.

"We all saw you hit first, Butch. And this was all over a sweetroll?" Dad scolded.

"She was talkin' smack about my mom!" Butch reasoned, pointing a finger at me.

"Is that true, Eleanor? Did you say mean things about Mrs. Deloria?" I stared at my feet in shame. "Answer me right now."

"Yes, sir." I said barely above a whisper.

"What was that? Say it louder."

"Yes, sir, I said mean things and I'm sorry. I shouldn't said them." I whined.

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Butch."

Butch looked so full of himself. I should have hit him in the face instead of the back.

"I'm sorry." I said flatly.

"Like you mean it, Eleanor Rose." I can't stand it when he uses my middle name. It only means I'm in trouble.

"I'm sorry, Butch." Dad didn't look convinced.

"I think you two should hug it out. Don't you agree Overseer?"

"That seems like a reasonable resolution."

We both looked at each other in horror.

"Well, go on." We hesitantly shuffled closer to each other.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" I asked, trying to take the advantage of making him uncomfortable. He looked pissed. I held my arms out and smiled smugly.

"I'm just waiting for you, Butch."

Dad swatted my arm ,"stop that, you're not supposed to enjoy this."

Butch fell into my arms stiffly and put a tense arm around me. I wrapped my arms around him uncomfortably.

We let go and Amata, Wally, and Paul burst into laughter. "I can't believe you did that."

"Me neither. I have to go. Dad wants me." I walked over to Dad near the intercom.

"That was Jonas, we have a surprise for you down in the Reactor Room."

We were walking downstairs when Beatrice stopped me to hand me a poem. What's a better gift for a ten year old than a poem? We went met up with Jonas and Dad handed me a BB gun.

"Where did you even find this, Dad?"

"Jonas and I spent months finding the parts and putting it together. All we needed left was a spring. Thank God Butch "misplaced" his switchblade." He laughed.

I took a few shots at targets and a rad roach crawled out from a box. I screamed and Dad calmly said

"Just aim and shoot. Think of it as target practice." I missed the first two shots. The third shot hit in between the head and torso and the head rolled off. I had to struggle from throwing up. Dad just laughed.

"Good work, sweetie. Keep it up and you can help with the rad roach problem. Now come see. We're going to take a picture to save the moment."

I walked over with BB gun in hand and smiled.

"One. Two. Three. Say 'cheese!'" And with that , a bright flash blinded me yet again.


	2. The GOAT

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><p>Chapter 2: The G.O.A.T.<p>

"Say 'ah', sweetie." Dad said as he shoved a depressor on my tongue and an otoscope in my ear.

"Ahhh," I replied obediently. I didn't brush my teeth this morning. I really hoped it wasn't noticeable.

After a routine check up, Dad put the equipment up in a hurry.

"As far as I can tell, you're a perfectly healthy 16-year-old girl. You'll be fine. Now go brush your teeth and get to class. You don't want to miss the G.O.A.T."

"But Daddy, I really feel sick." I coughed to make it more convincing but he wasn't buying it.

He gave me a sympathetic look.

"Honey, I know you don't want to take the test but you have a life in here. You need to make sure you have a job. A purpose. Trust me, it's much worse outside the doors."

I never knew why Dad knew so much about the outside world. We were born in the vault like everyone else so how would he know what it's like? I was about to ask him when Jonas walked in the room.

"What are you still doing here, Missy? Don't you know you have a very important test to take?"

"I was just about to leave actually, I just need to brush my teeth. Bye Dad. Bye Jonas."

I didn't stop to brush my teeth. I was already late enough. I rounded the corner to see Amata surrounded by Butch and his friends.

"I'll show you a real Tunnel Snake, Amata." Butch said smoothly.

"Leave me alone, assholes."

Paul was standing closest so I asked him what was going on.

"Tunnel Snakes rule!" he bellowed out.

"Uh, okay. That doesn't answer my question."

"This is Tunnel Snake business. Not yours. Tunnel Snakes rule!"

"I got that already. Butch, what are you guys doing?"

He looked over. "What, you want some of this Tunnel Snake for yourself? Maybe after the test. I can make room in my schedule." He said with a shit eating grin.

"Oh, you wish, you Trouser Snake. That sounds more fitting."

"Yeah, I know you think of dick all the time. That little 'Daddy's Girl' image you got ain't gonna cover up the raging slut underneath. I see the way you look at me." He beamed and blew a kiss.

"Come on, guys. Let's go take that damn test." Butch was finally leaving. As they waltzed into the classroom, I heard Paul whisper "Tunnel Snakes rule." I don't know what they've done to him.

"Thanks for getting rid of them. Assholes think that just because my dad's the Overseer that I must get some kind of special treatment. Well, I don't!" she cried.

"Dude, we have to go take the test. Don't let them get to you."

"I see everyone managed to find the classroom today," Mr. Brotch groaned. Everyone knew he hated the G.O.A.T.. It wasn't much of a secret.

I sat in the front desk in front of Wally Mack. I was too busy trying to get comfortable to feel him grab my ponytail and yank so hard my head hit his desk.

"What the fuck was that for?" I yelled.

" Wally, Eleanor! What is going on? And Eleanor, watch your language. Do I have to have a parent teacher meeting with your parents?" Brotch scolded.

"He pulled my hair! It was involuntary!" I tried to reason.

"Detention for three days, Mack. Now, if we could please get this test over with without any more interruptions." He passed out the test and started reading out the guidelines and questions.

The questions were ridiculous and had nothing to do with what kind of occupation suits you. It was more of a morality quiz. The last question was the worst of all of them.

"Pencils down, turn in your tests. It's time for the reaping."

I turned my test in and awaited my assignment. "Well, would you look at that. Vault tattoo artist. I hope you don't mind if I don't see you during working hours."

It could be worse. I could be the barber. "Alright, thanks."

Butch turned his test in next to me "Here ya go, Mr. Brotch."

"Well, well, well, Mr. Deloria. I never thought I'd see the day. I've waited a long time for this. Let's see what you made." he took his paper with a smile."Huh, well Deloria, I never would've thought you'd end up doing this." Butch was visibly nervous.

"Come on, Brotch, just tell me what I made, please" he pleaded.

"Congratulations, you made Vault barber." Brotch said with a smug grin.

Butch paled at the news. "You gotta be kidding me. Barber?"

I tried and failed at stifling a laugh. "What the hell are you laughing at, slut?" Brotch rolled up his test and slapped him with it.

"Don't talk to women like that."

I walked away before it got worse but Butch only followed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have laughed."

"Ya know, you got a real big fucking mouth. You should put it to use sometime." He grabbed my ass. I turned around to face him and he pushed me against the wall. I gasped in surprise. I didn't make any move to get away. We were alone in the one hall no one really goes down. There was nothing of use down here. His breath was hot on my neck and I was really regretting not brushing my teeth this morning.

He slammed his lips against mine. This was what I was waiting for for over a year. This wasn't romantic. It wasn't love. Love just isn't my thing. His hips were grinding against mine as I reached over for the control for the door to the closest room. I felt a button and smashed it and we slipped into the room.

The room was dark and had very little furniture. This was the older section of the living quarters when the vault was more populated. Now it was just empty rooms.

He started unzipping my jumpsuit with one hand, the other on my lower back and his mouth pressed into my throat. My hand was exploring his chest. My fingers grazed the zipper and I felt like I had a little more control over the situation. I unzipped his suit and he pushed mine to the floor. I slipped my boots off and stepped out of the jumpsuit and he followed. I jumped on to the bed and he crawled on top of me, kissing my throat and unhooking my bra from behind. I pulled his shirt over his head and he threw it across the room. He practically ripped my underwear off and I yanked his boxers off. He had a fistful of my hair as he kissed me and slid into me with a moan. It hurt a little but I would live. I just wanted to enjoy this.

I wrapped my legs around him for a more comfortable angle. He was gasping into my shoulder. He wasn't going to last long. This was going to be an anticlimactic experience for my. Pun intended. With a final thrust, he pulled out and finished on my stomach. Disgusting and boring. That's what this whole thing was to me.

He rolled over to the side and I got up and wiped off my stomach with his shirt. By god, I needed to get it off and I was pissed so I was just going to take it out on his shirt. I pulled my jumpsuit on and tied my boots back.

"Leaving so soon, sweet cheeks?" Butch mocked.

"Yeah, and I'm taking your jacket." I didn't want to look at him.

"By all means, you can have it. I'll make another."

I walked back to my room and I didn't leave for the rest of the day. That night, I cried into my pillow. What have done?


	3. Escape!

Chapter 3: Escape!

Amata woke me up with a start. "Come on, get up! You have to get up!"

"What's going on? I'm trying to sleep." I slurred out. It was too early for this.

"You have to get up! The vault door is open and your dad left. My dad has gone crazy with power and he's ordered the guards to kill anyone on sight. They're going to kill you!" she whined hysterically.

"What do you mean my dad left? The door can't open." I said, more for my sake than her's.

"Well, it opened for him. They killed Jonas. I'm sorry, I know you guys were close. But you can't tell me you had no idea he was going to do this."

"Are you fucking accusing me of this?" my eyes narrowed. "You think I had any part of this?"

She seemed to back pedal. "Well, it's just... you seriously had no idea he was planning this?" She's such a bitch.

"No. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get out of the vault." I picked up my BB gun and pellets, my baseball bat, and stimpaks. I put my ball cap and Butch's jacket on and headed out the door. There's nothing I wanted more than to get out of this place.

"Wait. You don't plan on going straight into that, do you?"

"Yep. Bye, I'll find the pass code when I get to the office."

"Stop right there. Guys, there she is!" I raised me gun and lowered it when I saw four rad roaches attack his legs. They must have gotten in through the vault door. I walked past as the man screamed in pain.

I ran into a frantic Butch. "Ellie, you gotta help my ma. Rad roaches got in when the door opened and they're gonna kill her! You gotta save her." He begged.

"Calm down, I'll help. Lead the way." I followed him to his quarters and I could hear Mrs. Deloria crying for Butch.

I fired off shots, narrowly missing the crouched woman. Three rad roaches lay at her feet and Butch grabbed me from behind and pulled me into a tight embrace. He kissed me for the first time in months.

"Thank you so much, Ellie. I know you gotta get out of here. I wish I could come with you. I really do, but my ma really needs me." He looked sincere enough.

"I know you would. I have to go. I hope I get to see you again some day. To be honest, I'm so fucking scared. I don't know what's out there."

He took my face in his hands. "I believe in you. You'll be fine. If any of us can survive out there, it's you. God, I'm so sorry I was such an ass for all those years." His voice started cracking. "I want to make sure you get out of this shit hole safe and sound. I'll go with you to the entrance but I can't leave."

"Alright." I was on the verge of tears. "Let's go, then."

We quiet literally bumped into Officer Gomez. "Oh boy, are you two lucky it was me who ran into you. The others won't be so forgiving. You gotta get out of here quick. I didn't see a thing."

"I always knew you were one of the good guys, Officer Gomez." Butch replied.

"You guys are just kids. I need to do my job at protecting the vault."

"Bye, we have to go. Thanks for not killing us." I yelled as we ran for the upper levels.

A couple was arguing about getting out of the vault. One ran at the guards and the other followed. A series of shots and screams, then silence ensued.

"Let's just run past the guards, we can do it. That door over there is jammed." I whispered. Butch nodded and stood at my left., blocking me from the guards and we ran. Shots rang out and I heard Butch yell and reach out for his arm.

We made it through the jammed door and up the stairs past rad roaches that Butch didn't even notice.

"Holy shit, are you okay?" I had no idea how to treat a bullet wound.

"I'm fine. Just keep going. Don't stop. Don't look back." I could hear the pain in his voice. Blood was dripping to the floor.

"Are you kidding me? There's a bullet in your fucking arm!" I needed to get a grip on this. I can't panic now. I'm almost out.

"It went all the way through. Forget it. The office is just down there." We ran past a window with a man pounding on the glass and calling guards.

We got to the office and I doubled over, it was too much. Jonas was at my feet with a battered face and a holodisk in his hand.

"I think I'm gonna throw up. Ellie, I'm so sorry. Wait here, I'll get the lock." I pulled myself together long enough to wrench the holodisk out of his hand. "To my Eleanor" in Dad's handwriting. It barely registered when the door opened and Butch ran for the lockers. I pulled out the sheet with the pass word and a stimpak. He stabbed it in his arm and pushed down on the plunger.

"Take the pass word and open the stairs. I did just that and I heard metal gliding over smooth metal, revealing stairs.

"Let's go." He pressed the red button on the opposite side of the room downstairs and I ran for the lever on the controls. Butch helped me pull it as Amata ran in, hair a mess.

"I can't believe you did it. Why's Butch with you?" she asked, barely audible over the screeching of the ancient metal gear open to let in real sunlight. The doors behind her opened and guards poured in the entrance.

Butch grabbed me and ran down the stairs. Gunshots filled the room and he stopped briefly, kissed me deeply, and shoved me through the slim crack in between the gear and the wall. I almost tripped on a skeleton and turned to Butch through the crack. He was saying something. I got closer to hear. "What the hell are you doing? Get out of here! Be safe, I believe in you!" he screamed.

I ran to the wooden door at the end of the cave and looked back. The door was closing and I could see Butch on the ground. I swung open the door with tears in my eyes. I shielded my face from the sun. It was too bright here. I wanted to go back.

The door closed behind me and looked at my surroundings . I fell to the ground in a crying heap. How the fuck am I supposed to survive with no armor, friends, or real weapons? I was covered in Butch's blood and outside dirt. I felt sick to my stomach. I was about to throw up, I could just feel it. I gagged once and then it just seemed to all come out. I felt a little better after I stood up. I wiped my eyes with my arms and set out for the long journey ahead. No more crying. Not out here.


	4. A Whole New World

Chapter 3: A Whole New World

The sun on my face and the vault at my back was the most horrifyingly beautiful thing I've ever experienced. I promised myself to make the most with the hand I've been dealt. Looking at it, I realized how shitty a hand that it was.

I took a look at my surroundings. It was definitely a town of some sort. There was debris everywhere. Tricycles lay frozen, abandoned by children.

What the fuck did the world do to itself? It's like the old saying about the snake that ate its tail. Civilization crumbled like stale cake. This is what I had always wanted to get to see?

What was I expecting, a land flowing with milk and honey? Dad always reassured me that the vault was much safer. I don't know why I thought it would be any different.

"This place is a total shit fest." I grumbled.

About half way through the town, I heard music nearby. It sounded like it was getting closer,

I drew out my bat and looked around for the source of the patriotic bullshit. The suspense was killing me. I turned my head in time to see the strangest thing I've ever laid eyes on: a flying radio. It was shaped like a ball with antennae sticking out of the back like feathers.

It hovered over to me. It wasn't trying to kill me and to be honest, it looked kind of cute.

"I don't know what you are but you're name is Georgie now. I don't even know if you can hear me. Do you know where the nearest safe place is?"

Georgie beeped in response, bouncing in the air. It turned around and hovered down the road, taking a right at a sign with "Megaton" written in yellow paint. I followed it up a hill and stopped in my tracks. A ginormous mountain of metal stood before me. Georgie left me behind to meet with a robot in front of the mountain. A loud grating filled my ears as the mountain lifted two wings to reveal a door.

I walked anxiously to Georgie and looked up to find a man with a gun staring down at me.

"My name's Stockholm, this is Megaton. Are you from the vault in Springvale? Your clothes look in good condition so they weren't stolen."

I swallowed before speaking. "Yeah, I'm from the vault. I'm Eleanor. Is this place safe?"

"One of the safest places in the D.C. area. Trust me, you'll be fine as long as you stay out of trouble."

"Thank you, really. I've had a very long day, is there anywhere in town I could stay and rest?"

"We have a common house, just go down the hill, take a left at the bomb, and go up from there."

The look I gave him must have been enough for him to keep going.

"I said Megaton was one of the safest places here. The bomb is pre-war. If it has lasted this long, you'll be fine for one night."

"Uh... alright. Is there anywhere I can buy some new things? I don't have any money so I'll have to sell some things too."

"If you're from the vault, I'm going to give you some tips and pointers. Just some of the basics. First off, we don't use money, we use bottle caps. Don't ask me, that's just how it is. Second, if you plan on going out of town, you better hope you had good target practice and a steady supply of ammo. Third, Raiders. They're gangs of rapists, cannibals, drug addicts, and general dickheads. Stay the fuck away from them if possible. Last but not least the wild life out here is what kills most people. I'll list least to most lethal: rad roaches, bloatflies, mole rats, dogs, fire ants, ghouls, centaurs" he paused, taking a breath and counting off on his fingers, "mire lurks, super mutants, rad scorpions, yao guai, and deathclaws."

He looked lost in thought, maybe figuring out if he left anything out. After about ten seconds, he looked back at me. "Yeah, you'll be lucky if you never see a deathclaw in your time on earth." He stared at me to see if anything even registered.

He looked at me with sympathy. "How old are you?"

I looked down."Nineteen"

"Jesus, you're still just a kid. Look, I can't even imagine how all this is affecting you. It's a lot to take in. I know it's going to be hard for a while, but believe me, it will get better."

"Thank you. I think I should go get something to eat."

"You don't have any caps so take this." He dropped a box of Dandy Boy apples from his platform.

I looked at it in my hands. "I don't know how I can repay you for being so nice."

"Don't mention it. Hey, when you're ready to learn anything new like what's out there and some other places like Rivet City, come see me. I'm always here. Now go get some sleep."

"Alright. Thank you again for everything, really."

I opened the door to Megaton and I faced a city full of life. Completely different from Springvale. I opened the box and ate the dry apples by the handfuls.

A man in a long coat and a hat walked up the steps to meet me.

"Hello, my name is Lucas Simms, the town sheriff. If you stay out of trouble, we won't have any problems."

I swallowed the apples before speaking in an attempt to be polite. "I didn't plan on it. Do you have anywhere I can sell my things?" I asked.

"You would want to talk to Moira up in Craterside Supply."

"Thank you.. By the way, what do you plan on doing about that bomb?" I took another handful of apple pieces.

"Well, it's not hurting anybody and the church worships it. I don't know. Why?"

"I was just wondering if you would be up to allowing me to disable it."

"Well, only if you know how to do it. If you don't, leave it the hell alone."

"I'll take a look at it." I walked away up the ramp to the store Simms pointed me to. I opened the door and like hitting a wall, I smelled a horrible stench.

"Oh, don't mind the smell. I was just doin' an experiment. You look new. My name is Moira. You look like you're from a vault. Give me that uniform and I'll replace it with a better one that has more protection. Also, you need weapons. Just come see." The woman talked so much with out breathing. Was she even human?

"Uh, do you have a changing room though?" I asked gingerly.

"Oh, not really but we're girls. Jason, go to the other room for a few minutes." The mercenary in the corner grumbled and left the room.

"Thank you, what can I get for the bat and baseball cap?"

"Well, the bat's in good condition and the cap is decent. I could give you 16 caps maybe, at the most." She said with a smile.

I must have visibly sank because she looked at me with pity. I really hate that people keep looking at me like that.

"What do you need the caps for?"

"I need a better weapon." I whispered.

"How about you give me the baseball cap and bat and I'll give you this 10 mm. It's not much, but it will help you. You can just help me with my book." She said with another smile.

"What kind of book?" I was slipping out of my jumpsuit and into the new one.

"A survival guide to the wasteland. I want to help people and this is the best way I know how." She looked so giddy.

"I'll help you. Thank you so much. I wasn't expecting people to be so nice out here."

"Oh, sweetie. Not many people are nice in the wasteland. You're just seeing the place with the nicest people."

"Oh, well, do you know where I can go to get a drink?"

"Yeah, Moriarty has a bar. You can't miss it." She beamed.

"Well, thank you, Moira. I'm gonna head there. I'll be back tomorrow. Bye." I zipped up the armored jumpsuit and headed out the door.


	5. Rubs Me the Right Way

Chapter 5: Rubs Me the Right Way

I walked up the stairs and up another ramp and walked into the bar.

A man was banging on the radio and a woman was scolding him. Something was wrong with the man's skin. I couldn't get a good look so I walked up to the bar and waited. He turned around and I could see rotted skin and exposed veins. _Holy shit, be polite, Eleanor. Don't stare_.

"Anything I can get you?" He asked nervously.

I coughed. "Nothing really. But I'll just sit here for awhile."

He looked surprised, "Wait, you aren't going to hit me or call me a zombie? Not even berate me?"

That was a weird question to ask. "Why would I do that? You haven't done anything."

"I never thought I'd see the day when there wasn't an asshole in the bar.

"Why would someone do that? That's awful."

"You may be the only person in the world who thinks so. You lived under a rock or something?"

"Well, sort of, I'm from the vault."

"Well that's different. My name's Gob. Nice to meet you Vault Dweller."

"My name is Eleanor, not "**Vault Dweller.**" I said irritatedly.

He flinched. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything, I was just trying to make a joke" He was bracing for a hit. It made me feel terrible that I made him think I would hurt him.

"It's okay, I overreacted. It was just a joke." I assured him.

I smiled and walked over to the man beckoning me in the corner.

"My name is Burke. Would you mind listening to a simple deed that will make it worth your while?" He said in a hushed tone.

"Depends on what it is."

"How would you like earning five hundred caps?"

I was shocked. _That's so much money_."What would I need to do?"

That's what I like to hear, a lovely lady like you can't possibly be from this cesspool of living garbage. What do you think about setting that bomb to go off, with you at a safe distance of course? You'd be doing everyone a favor." He said with a sick grin.

I was stunned by the offer. Why would he kill these innocent people? Denying him would probably end badly for me and he'd just get someone else to do it. I need to convince him not to go through with it.

"But this place is like a home to me, why would you want to blow me up, sir?" I placed my hand on his knee and leaned in closer to make it more convincing. "What will it take to make you change your mind, Mr. Burke." I purred.

He cleared his throat. "Well, I certainly wouldn't want to hurt you. Maybe we could work something out. We should probably go to my house to discuss," he paused to clear his throat again, "uh, business matters privately."

"That sounds like a plan to me, Mr. Burke. Lead the way." I let go and followed him out and to his house, clinging to his arm. It was getting dark out so I might be able to sleep at his house for the night.

He opened the door and turned the light on. It was dim and the house was small.

"So, what will it take to change that mind of yours?" I whispered, unzipping my jumpsuit.

"It won't be much." He said , pressing me against the wall, kissing me with an insatiable hunger. I was halfway out of my suit when I started tugging his off. He dressed in layers for some reason.

This was the first time in weeks since I've seen some action. Hopefully he's much better than Butch. I kicked my boots off and he unhooked my bra. His hands moved to my breast. At least, he knew what he was doing. He was standing in his boxers, that needed to change very soon.

He pulled back and threw me on the bed. I gasped in surprise from such a bold move. He climbed on top of me and slipped his hand in my panties. I gasped again. He kissed up and down my throat, rubbing me roughly. This was new, I didn't even know that felt good and Butch sure as shit didn't either.

I moaned as he slipped two fingers into me, rubbing away the stress of today. I wouldn't mind doing this again. He pulled out and I yanked his boxers off. He groaned as he pushed into me. He was even bigger than Butch. I grabbed his hair and yanked him to my lips. He grabbed my legs and pushed them to my sides. Holy shit this is going pretty well. My breathing became erratic and I knew I wasn't going to last long. Each thrust felt like a splash of cold water. Before I knew it, I was screaming his name and leaving scratches on his back.

"Oh god!" I screamed out. A wave of euphoria washed over me. He was still going, each thrust renewing that wave. He gave one final thrust and stilled. He let out a hot breath on my throat and pulled out.

After several moments of bliss, the reality of what just happened hit me like a brick. "Did you..."

"Wha... oh shit." He whispered. "Fuck!" he screamed and slammed his fist on the wall. "Shit, shit shit, shit, fuck! I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking." He looked over completely panicking.

"I know, but it's too late now. I'll just have to wait. I need some sleep. I've had such a long day." I rolled over and fell asleep in his arms.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_


	6. Destroyer of Atom

Chapter 6: Destroyer of Atom

My eyes opened but I wasn't really awake. Everything was blurry. _Where am I? Where's Butch ?_

We were supposed to eat lunch together today. I needed to get ready.

I sat up with an unfamiliar creek of a bed. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the source of the warmth radiating at my side.

_Wait, that's not Butch. Who is he?_

Suddenly, all the memories of yesterday buzzed into my head. _What did I do? I'm so fucking stupid. So __**stupid**__._

I crawled out of bed as quietly as possible. Unfortunately for me, the bed was loud as shit no matter how slowly you move.

Burke turned over, his arm over his head."Leaving so soon?"

"I have a lot of things to do. I would if I could. Did I change your mind?"

He looked deep in thought. I was about to lose it. I fucked him. I risked a pregnancy for him. For this fucking town. For these people. "Yeah, I'll just have to tell Tenpenny I couldn't find anyone to do it."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Thank you."

I got up and started dressing. "This is a one time thing, Mr. Burke. I did what I needed."

His eyes flickered to mine. I saw utter sadness. _Did he really think that this was going to be something regular?_

I zipped my jumpsuit and stood up. "I have to leave. Bye, Burke."

I closed the door quietly. I walked down the steps.

First order of business is disabling the bomb. I walked past the man standing in the water and under the tail of the bomb.

I never thought I'd be thankful for those times Butch and I would mess with the vault's main control system just so we could fool around.

I opened the latch on the side and looked at the wires. My hair was in my eyes. This was why I hated long hair. Anything to get people to stop thinking things I'm not.

After unplugging and snipping wires with my teeth, the bomb was safe.

"Well, I'll be. You did it." Simms said from behind me. "I didn't really think you knew what you were doing but I guess I was wrong. Here's the key to that house over there, and here's three hundred caps. It's the least I can do for saving the town."

I looked down at the caps and key. I never had my own house before. I would be given one when I married in the vault. I probably would've married Butch.

Thinking about Butch just made me nauseous. Not a whole day out of the vault and I already fucked someone else. _I'm such a shitty person._

"Are you alright?" Simms sounded concerned.

"I'm fine. Just feeling home sick."

"Well, you'll be fine. This is your home now."

Even though it was said with good intentions, I couldn't ignore the pit in my stomach. "Thank you."

I shuffled over to the little shop in front of the bomb. A woman leaning against the building pushed off the wall.

"Hey, what can I get you?"

"Oh, uh... do you have Sugar Bombs?"

"We sure do, seven caps."

I handed her the money and started eating.

"Thanks for disabling that damn bomb. What did Simms give you for it?"

I swallowed the cereal,"he gave me the key to the house behind this building and some caps."

"Sounds like you got a good set up. How did you know how to disable it? Most of the people out here can't even read."

That wasn't a real surprise. "I just kind of grew up around things like that."

She didn't look like she was buying it but I couldn't keep telling people I was from the vault. It could be dangerous if I told the wrong person. She didn't press the matter further.

"So I couldn't really sleep last night, no one could. It was pretty loud, if you get what I'm saying."

I glared at her. "I don't think that's really any of your business. I can't change what happened. I'm sorry I kept you up."


	7. A New Look, A New Home

Chapter 7: A New Look, A New Home

I stood up and and looked at the ramp that led to my new home. I needed to get away. That bitch was getting personal.

I wonder what the house looks like?

_I guess it's time to find out._

I ran up the steps, eager to see my new home. I unlocked the door and threw it open.

"Hello, Madame. My name is Wadsworth. I am your new robot butler."

I jumped back in surprise. It was indeed another robot. This one had an accent like Dad though and looked just like Andy.

"H-Hello, Wadsworth. I'm Eleanor.. It's nice to meet you."

"It is my pleasure, Madame. I am required to inform you of my abilities. I am capable of cleaning, providing clean water, styling hair, and telling jokes." It seemed to always be in a cheery mood. It was unsettling.

"Can you do my hair?"

"Why, yes, Madame. Just have a seat wherever you look."

This was the fist time I actually took notice of the decoration. There was a small kitchen, lockers on opposite sides of the room, a book shelf, and a stand of some sort.

I sat on the floor and the robot revealed a screen. It had several hairstyles, most of which looked like it would just shave random spots and hair gel what was left. There was one in particular that caught my eye. It was a short, messy style, much like my childhood go-to hairstyle.

"That one." I pointed to the screen.

"Ah, yes. And what color?"

I never thought about dying my hair. I want something that separates me from what I was. I needed a new look for my new beginning. Pink. Fuck yes.

"I want pink. Can you do that?"

"Why, of course, Madame. Light or dark?"

"Definitely light." I couldn't stop smiling. I felt like a rebel.

"Interesting color. I'll start right away."

I sat as still as possible as it worked. Last thing I need is a bad haircut. Every once in a while, it asked me to turn a certain way or look in a direction.

After about an hour, it had finished. "Now we just need to wait for your hair to dry, Madame."

"Alright." I looked around for anything to dry it faster. A towel or something. I noticed there was no bathroom. It's not very different from the vault. I think I remember passing the girl's bathroom on the way to Moriarty's. That seems pretty inconvenient.

I found an old shirt upstairs. It was probably left by the old owner. I dried my hair with the shirt as mush as I could. I shook my hair to get air flow. Anything to dry it faster. I have never been so excited for something so trivial as dry hair.

After about 5 minutes of shaking my head and rubbing the shirt through my hair, it was finally dry.

"Would you like a mirror, Madame?"

"Yes, please." I practically squealed when he pulled the mirror out of his main piece.

My hair was definitely pink. And short. It cured around my face. Blue eyes staring back. My skin was so pale compared to Stockholm's.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I was jumping with joy.

"You're very welcome, Madame!"

I have to show people my new hair. I wonder what Gob will think. I ran out the door, leaving it wide open. I could hear Wadsworth bitching about me growing up in a barn or something. I don't know what that's suppose to mean. I passed a leaking pipe. It sprayed the leg of my jumpsuit.

I should probably fix that. From the pipe, I could see the directions for the water processing plant. I could only assume that who ever is in charge could help. I jogged up the ramps. I never thought I'd get so much exercise from just living somewhere.

I knocked on the door and a grumpy old man opened it.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Oh, is this a bad time? I was just wondering if I might be able to help with the pipe."

He brightened at the thought of help. "If you fix them, I'll pay you two hundred caps."

"Are there more than one?"

He paused for a few seconds, either remembering how many pipes busted or how stupid I am for only noticing the one by my house.

"There's three, I think. Here's my tool box. You better take care of it. I need it back once your done." He handed me a heavy box.

"Alright, you go fix those pipes."

I set off to fix the pipe that sprayed me earlier, and after that, I asked around to see if anyone knew where the others were. I fixed the second one with ease. The third one was going to be a hassle.

I walked up all the ramps to Moriarty's and peered over the railing.

There it was in all it's leaking glory. This was going to be a bitch.

I jumped over the rails and hit a roof with a loud thud. People under me were looking at each other. A stranger just jumped on to a roof for a pipe.

Fixing the pipe was going to be the easy part, getting the tool box down to the roof because I left it like the idiot I am was going to be hard.

I could hear someone passing. I yelled for their attention. A little head looked over the rails.

"Hey, kid. What's your name?"

"I'm Maggie. I have to go, Billy said I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. He says I'm too friendly." She turned to leave but I was not about to let that happen without the tool box.

"Hey, hey, Maggie. Before you leave, do you think you could drop the tool box down for me? I left it up there."

She disappeared for a second and reappeared. "Do you mean this tool box?"

"Yeah, that one!"

"Uh, okay. But I have to go as soon as I do." She dropped the box and I caught it with a groan.

"Thank you so much, Maggie. Bye"

"Bye, Lady."

"Wait... Call me Eleanor."

She looked surprised. "You mean, I can call you by just your first name?"

"Well, yeah. We're friends now, huh?"

"Yeah!" She skipped down the ramp to meet up with a man with an eye patch. He didn't look happy.

I got to working on the leak and in no time, all the pipes were fixed. Now I just need to find a way down.

Everything seemed so dangerous. I could jump down to the ramp below, but that would hurt. I could try climbing back up to the ramp I jumped off of, but how would I get the tool box up?

I saw a gap that dropped down to a steep hill. I could try that.

I grabbed the box and slipped one leg through the gap, dangling it to get an idea of how I would hit the ground. I rotated to the other side of the gap and slipped my other leg in. I hugged the box and and pushed off.

I hit the ground heels first and slid down to the bottom. People were looking at me like an idiot.

I walked over to the to the ramp and ran to the water processing plant.

I knocked twice and Walter opened it, pleased to see me.

"Got them all?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well, I'll be. You sure are something. Here's the caps I promised. But all you've done is delay the inevitable. Without those parts, the plant's gonna croak sooner or later. How about hearing an offer?"

I waited for him to continue.

"I'm always in need of some more scrap metal, how's about I give you ten caps for every piece you turn in."

"Sounds fair. I'll do it."

"Alrighty, you have a good day now, ya hear?"

"You too."


	8. A Shot of Whiskey

Chapter 8: A Shot of Whiskey

I left the plant and walked to the bar.

"Well, if it ain't Mrs. Fixer Upper?" I heard a thick Irish accent.

"I'm sorry?"

"Oh, it's you. My, I haven't seen you since you were a wee baby."

"I don't remember you. I was born in the vault."

"The name's Moriarty, thanks for asking. And you can believe what you want. I know more than you do. And I know what you want to know."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I know yer father."

"You do? Can you please tell me where he went? Did he come here?''

"My memory is a bit foggy, lass. Maybe something can freshen it up?"

"How much?"

"A hundred caps."

"Done. Now tell me."

"Oh, lass. I need to see it for myself."

I groaned and pulled out a large bag I used for what I could.

I counted out the caps and handed them to him.

"Now, tell me."

"Alright, don't get yer panties in a twist. Yeah, yer father came here. And I know where he went. He went to GNR Radio in D.C.. I don't recommend you going straight after him though. The capital is full of nasty things."

"How long ago did he leave?"

"About an hour before you got to town."

_An hour? He got here an hour before me?_

"I think I'm just gonna have a drink." I mumbled.

"That's the spirit, lass. No pun intended."

"Gob?"

"Yeah, friend?"

"Can I have a bottle of whiskey?"

He looked at me the way you look at a crying child.

"Sure, thing, Eleanor."

I paid for the bottle and sat down in front of him.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father."

"I don't know what I'm going to do. I've never even been further than Springvale."

"I'll let you in on some advice. There's a place in the Capital. It's called Underworld, the City of Ghouls. That's where I'm from. There's a man by the name of Charon, he's another ghoul. He's a hard ass but he's a real good protector. I say you should go get him when you have the resource and he'll take care of you."

"Where is that?"

"Hand me your wrist thing, I'll check the map."

I handed him my Pipboy and he put the location in. Along with several others around the area.

"That's all I really know."

"Thank you. Do you know how to get there?"

"I say follow the river until you see a large monument. It's the Jefferson Memorial. From there, go to Rivet City and talk with some people. Stay there for a few days and stock up on things. And once you're ready to leave, take Anacostia to the Mall. Follow the signs with a gear with wings. It will take you to the Washington Memorial. It lets out right in front of the Museum of History. Don't let Willow get to you. And don't get away from the Museum, there's too many super mutants."

"What even is a super mutant?"

"They were human once. They had some kind of experiment that went wrong and they went crazy. They're bigger than humans and they're a nasty yellow color. Their mouths are always open, too."

That painted a good enough picture for me.

"Oh. Who else is in Underworld?"

"Well, there's Carol and Greta. They own a little bed and breakfast. Before you leave for there, I have a letter for Carol. She's like a mom to me. And then there's Winthrop who keeps everything maintained. Tulip is a sweet girl. She owns a clothing store. Graves and Barrows work the clinic. Don't be fooled by the name. Snowflake does hair." He stopped to remember everyone. "Nice hair, by the way. Uh, Ahzrukahl has Charon's contract and owns the bar. And then there's Quinn who scavenges. That's about it."

That's a lot of names to remember.

"I think I'll go next week. I don't know."

"That soon?"

"Yeah. I'll make it."


	9. A Taste of the Outside

I have decided to speed things up a bit. It seemed like it was moving too slow and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who noticed it.

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: A Taste of the Outside.<p>

I only made it 3 hours before I was suffering third-degree burns, was dehydrated, narrowly escaped death several times, and out of ammo. I resorted to using a pool cue I found in a ditch.

"Ah, shit. I'm so** fucking** stupid. Why am I out here? Why did I think I could do this yet?" I kicked a trash can with what little energy I had left.

I wouldn't make it back to Megaton today. I would just have to sleep here for the night. I don't even know where I am. Somewhere near the river like Gob told me to go to. I think I might be near someplace called a Citadel.

Maybe I could make it to Rivet City tomorrow. I might if I pray really hard and lead a life as a devout Christian. I need to come up with a plan before I go to sleep.

Maybe I could salvage from certain areas of interests and I could hide if things get too heavy. I don't know what I could even find.

Stimpaks, ammo, med-x. Just the things Stockholm told me that are important.

I could work my way around the edge of the capital and grab what I can. I should be able to stock up on supplies I really need before the GNR trip.

I was sitting on an old mattress in a gas station. The air was hot and thick. My hair stuck to the back of my neck and my clothes were clinging to my skin. I unzipped the top half of my jumpsuit and tied it around my waist. I decided to search the gas station for supplies for tomorrow and all I found was two stimpaks and some water. The water didn't last long at all.

Night came slowly as I grew more tired by the second. The morning air was crisp and cool. It was completely foreign to me.

I set off to find Rivet City, making sure to stay close to the river, but not too close. I stuck to the shelter of buildings. By afternoon, I could see the outline of the Jefferson Memorial. I wonder what's in it? I probably should save it for another day.

As I got closer, I could make out large, yellow creatures. Those must be the super mutants everyone is talking about. I decided to take my chances and swim across to the other side of the building. I couldn't see anything in the water so I should be safe for now I slipped into the cool water and heard my Pipboy clicking.

_Shit, the water is irradiated._ I had to make it quick, I hope I was a good swimmer in a past life. I made sure to stay touching the bottom of the river as much as possible. Once I was out of ground, I held my breath, dunked under the water, and started kicking wildly. I seemed like I was getting somewhere, but that could just be the current. Wait. The current was a great idea.

I could pretend I was just a body in the river and I could let it take me to where I needed to be. I'm just lucky that the current was going my way.

I held my breath again and rolled on to my stomach. Going with the flow never seemed more accurate.

I came up for air every thirty seconds or so. I was light headed by the third breath of air. I made it to shore in a matter of minutes. I needed to take a literal breather.

I sat next to the stairs and laid on the hot metal floor. My head felt like a balloon. I just needed a moment.

I laid in silence for several minutes before getting up and walking the rest of the way up. A beggar asked me for water and I had to break his heart and tell him of my own predicament. I walked up to the intercom.

"Wait a minute, I'm bringing the bridge out."

I waited as the metal groaned under it's weight. I was more impressed that the bridge mechanism still worked than I was about the actual city. I met half way with an attractive man. He was a security guard and his name was Harkness. What a strange name.

I walked past him and into the market place. The people were mostly nice and I stocked up on more supplies. Maybe I could do some odd jobs here and there for caps.

Maybe I could try working on getting in the security guards pants while I'm here, too. My nights are only getting lonelier by the day. Last night was especially bad. I couldn't stop thinking about Butch and our final moments together..

I walked around to get a feel for the place and I found myself in the lab. Two men stood in the corner. The taller man was much more intimidating.

Something was very off about him too. He was too still. And his eyes moved in a loop. He stared straight, looked around the room twice, and looked at the doors, then back to staring straight. A woman with a tight bun sat at a desk with her head in her hands.

"Um, ma'am? Do you have a second?"

"What do you want? I'm very busy." She sounded pretty pissed.

"Is this a bad time? I was actually just wondering if you knew my father at some point?"

"Why would I know him? Is he important? What's his name?"

"James Whick. Distinguishable accent. Grey hair, about this height." I raised my hand 3 inches above my head.

She seemed to still at the mention of his name.

"Oh my god. It's you."


	10. Alone and Looking

Sorry that I haven't updated in a while, I've sort of been trying to focus on Break My Bones

* * *

><p>Chapter 10: Alone and Looking<p>

I awoke with the ever familiar sense of cold loneliness. Despite the fact that Ted Strayer was lying next to me, I felt more isolated than ever. This was becoming normal for me. I started drinking at night to dull the pain in my stomach from lack of other emotions.

_I'm so fucking alone._ I needed to find Charon soon.

Harkness wasn't really taking a hint. It's like he was a robot. He didn't really express emotions well.

I was more than well supplied, so I would be able to leave today if I so felt like it. I still had over eight hundred caps to spend, but I would just wait for Underworld to spend it. I don't even know how much Charon's contract would cost.

I was planning to just loot Anacostia and sell what I didn't need. I needed to become more independent on my way to not have to be so independent.

I stood up from the old mattress in the Weatherly Motel. I got dressed fast and pulled my boots on. I looked in the mirror to see if I looked as shitty as I felt.

It seemed like a stranger was staring back at me. My hair was still pink, just a little bit longer. I sold the vault armor after I found something more effective. It was made of leather and it made my ass look great. I was losing a lot of weight. I couldn't help but notice I smelled like booze and sex. It was becoming my natural smell.

_Dad would be so ashamed of me._

I had thought of just giving up and turning to a needle but I never liked them. And everything else was just too expensive. Drinking just seemed to be the only option.

Before I went to the Muddy Rudder last night, I sat on the shower floor. The sound of the water drowned out me crying. I held the razor to my wrist and weighed the pros and cons of killing myself. As of now, the only thing I had going for me was finding Dad and Butch.

As soon as I thought of him, I put the razor down and wrapped my arms around my knees. They wouldn't even know I was dead. They would assume I was alive and well.

Butch never told me he loved me, but when I woke up next to him on regular basis with his arms pulling me as close as possible, I felt loved. And I repay him by sleeping with a new stranger every week?

I stopped wallowing in my own self pity long enough to leave the hotel room and leave the city behind me. I was walking down the ramp through the Anacostia gates, when I heard a loud crashing.

Already shit going down today? At least I was prepared. I grabbed my Chinese assault rifle and held it tightly. The crashing was getting louder. Whoever it was, they were coming towards me.

I aimed my gun at the corner and held my breath. A can rolled towards me. A woman with a fucked up haircut rounded the corner. She reached for her weapon behind her. I pulled the trigger and her head exploded in a mess of red chunks on the wall. She fell to the ground with a loud thud.

I needed a quieter weapon. I was going to alert everyone in the metro if I haven't already. I looted the woman and pocketed ten caps and her sledge hammer. I would just have to bludgeon everyone here.

After several hours of beating people to death with a hammer, I had over two hundred caps, several useless weapons that I planned to sell, **a lot** of drugs, and a steadier supply of ammo.

I stepped out into the bright sunlight. I shielded my eyes as they tried to adjust after hours in the dark.

"Welcome tourist." A woman with a gravelly voice greeted.

"Hello, is this Underworld?"

"Yes, why do you want to know?"

"My friend Gob told me to come here to employ Charon."

"You're here then. And tell Gob that I said hey."

"Alright. Thank you."

She grumbled in response. I opened the doors to the museum and a rush of cold air hit me. It was a refreshing change. I didn't even know they had working air conditioners anymore.

Everything was so dark. A broken dinosaur lay at my feet. It was both disturbing and interesting. I'd only ever seen pictures in the history books in the vault. A mammoth sat on the other side of the room. It was enormous.

I walked up the not-so-inviting, yet fitting, entrance to Underworld. A ghoul in a blue, greasy jumpsuit turned around.

"Hello, my name is Eleanor. Do you know where I can find Charon?"

He looked at me skeptically.

"Why are you here?"

"I need to find Charon."

"You made that clear. Do you know what we are?"

"I know you're ghouls but I'm not exactly sure what a ghoul is."

"Now tell me, how is it that you ended up down here in Ghoul central without knowing what a Ghoul is? Huh? You know, never mind. I'm a Ghoul. Everyone down here: Ghouls. That's what we are. We're not the walking dead, despite the rotten flesh and the smell. We're mutants... sort of. At least, I think we are. And to answer your question, he's in the Ninth Circle."

"Well, thank you..."

"Winthrop. I'm Winthrop."

He flinched when I held my hand out but he took it and shook it.

"You don't mind touching me?"

"Not really, why?"

"Did you grow up under a rock or something?"

"I grew up in a vault. I just got out about a month ago."

His mouth formed an "o". "Well, you should try out the shops if you plan on staying a while."

"All right. Oh, by the way, what's a 'smoothskin'? I keep hearing ghouls say it."

"Smoothskin? You know, because your skin is so smooth... and tasty..."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Are you hitting on me?"

He didn't look pleased. "Very funny. No, I'm not. It was a zombie joke."

"I should probably go sell my junk." I said in an excuse to get the hell away from this train wreck.

"Bye, smoothskin."

"Bye, Winthrop."

I walked to the closest store I saw. A small ghoul stood behind the counter with her head in her hands.

"Hello? Do you think I could sell some things?"

She sat up quickly with a gasp. I'd say she hasn't had a customer in a while.

"Yes, yes. Come in."

I laid out all the guns and useless things I didn't need.

"I can give you three hundred for everything. That's all I have."

"Deal. This shit is too heavy."

She laughed with a little snort. She was very pleasant to be around. She was nice and laughed when I'm not even making jokes.

"What's your name? A pretty thing like you must always have a good name."

"Eleanor. What's yours?"

"Your name is very old, it's traditional. Probably an old relatives name. My name's Tulip."

"Oh yeah, Gob told me about you. Nothing bad, I swear."

"Oh, thank goodness. You had me worried for a second."

"I have a question. I'm here to get Charon's contract. Is there anything I should know about him before?"

"Oh, well, if you have all night."

"Really, that bad?"

"Sweetie, you have to understand that Charon is very distant. He's a little messed up over the years. I don't know the history of his contract but I know he's completely loyal to whoever holds it. I'm very certain that if you have his contract, and you try very hard, you can maybe get him to open up."

"He sounds horrifying."

"I might also add that he's very large."

I leaned in closer to whisper. "Do you ever wonder about... you know..."

She looked stunned. "Sweetie, you'll be lucky if you can even hold a conversation with him."

"There's not much conversation in that kind of business."

"Oh my. I like you. You're not a prude. You're funny."

"I like you, too. You're very kind. Well, it was really nice talking with you, Tulip, but I have a Goliath to pick up."

"Bye, come back soon."

"Bye, I will."


	11. Contractor

Chapter 11: Contractor

I walked up the stairs to the Ninth Circle. The smell of smoke and liquor hit me like a brick. A sleazy looking ghoul in a suit was staring at my chest. I folded my arms and sat down at a table.

I fiddled with my Pipboy to switch through all the new notes I picked up over the days. I looked up to see a huge ghoul glaring at me from his seat across to me.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you. I'll move if you want." I stood up and walked to the counter to take a seat.

"Welcome to the Ninth Circle. I'm Ahzrukahl. How... may I help you?" The ghoul drew his words out slowly. If any ghoul were to be considered a zombie, it would be him. His suit was a torn mess and it was stained all to hell. He reeked of a mix of decaying carcass and moldy book.

"I'd like a bottle of vodka."

"A... whole bottle?" When he smiled, I could see a mouthful of rotten teeth. He was disgusting.

"Yeah, how much?"

"For a pretty thing like you, twelve caps."

"I will pay regular price for this bottle and no less." I was almost certain that he'd think that giving me a discount meant I "owe him".

"Feisty. I like that." He breathed in deeply, "twenty caps."

I handed him the caps to get him to just stop fucking talking to me. He slid the bottle across the bartop. I popped the top off and chugged a quarter of the bottle. Both the ghoul from the corner table and the one behind the counter stared at me. Was it frowned upon here or just impressive?

My guess was impressive because Ahzrukhal turned his head and muttered "holy shit."

"I have some business matters to discuss." I didn't want to talk to him anymore but I didn't come all the way here for nothing.

He leaned on the counter to get closer. His breath smelled like swamp water.

"And what might that 'business' be?" He raised what was left of his eyebrow. He was absolutely putrid.

"I want Charon's contract." The ghoul in the corner shifted. I could only assume that was Charon.

"Oh my, it won't come at a cheap price. He's my body guard. I can't just sell it without a backup plan."

I could already feel the gaping hole in my pocket. "How much for the contract?"

"I'd say... uh, one thousand." He was scratching his chin, pieces of skin flaking off onto the filthy bar.

"Pretty steep. Eight hundred."

"I need you to understand that with Charon gone, I'll need a new employee to fill in his position."

"And eight hundred sounds like more than enough for a body guard."

"Nine hundred."

"Eight fifty. That's my final offer."

He looked like he was going to take it, but only because he'd been caught. "Fine. Take the fucking contract."

It took around twenty minutes to count out all the caps. The bar was covered with them. Ahzrukahl was practically drooling on himself at the sight.

I pushed the caps over to him with as much force as I could without flinging them all over the room. He handed me the contract.

"Why don't you do the honor of telling him yourself?"

I turned around to see Charon staring at me with his arms crossed.

"I think he already knows. Charon, welcome to the club." I waved the rolled up paper in the air.

He unfolded his arms and met my side.

"Well Charon, it's been a good..." I heard Charon cock his gun.

I looked over in time for the left side of my face to get blood spattered on my face and down to my neck.

"We can go now, Mrs." He sounded angry, yet still pleased.

"Oh my god, it's in my mouth."

"I apologize." He said not-so-sincerely.

"It's... fine. And please don't call me Mrs. It makes me feel old. Just call me whatever you want."

"What is your name?"

"I'm Eleanor, nice to meet you." I shook his hand.

"I shall call you by your name, then."

"That's fine. Do you guys have showers here?"

"They're in the front. I'll show you."

"Thank you so much."

After the shower, I got dressed in cleaner armor I picked off of a raider in Anacostia. It was made of metal and excruciatingly heavy.

"Are you ready to go?"

"I'm as ready as you are."

"Let's head out then."


	12. Harkness

The air around me was stale and smelled like rust. Rivet City had a weird funk to it. I don't think it's from the people. Just that it's a gross old boat that never really opens its doors.

Charon was sitting next to me. He was pretending to sleep.

"You're not fooling anyone, you know?"

"It is my duty to protect you mistress. I am not ordered to sleep." He realized he had called me "mistress" and looked apologetic.

"I order you to care about your well-being."

"As you wish, Eleanor."

"That starts with sleeping and eating. Are you hungry?"

He looked at the wall. He was acting like a child that didn't want to admit he did something wrong but also didn't want to lie to his mom.

"Charon, are you hungry?" I repeated.

"...Very."

"That's all you had to say." I stood up to leave the room. Charon yelped and covered his eyes.

"What?"

"You aren't dressed at all. Not even a little."

"I'm used to sleeping naked and drunk so get used to it." I started to pull on my shorts and tank top.

"Why? That's very dangerous."

"There's usually a different guy in my bed every night so I think I'm safe enough." I looked at the floor as the words came out. He looked at me with pity.

"I don't need your sympathy, Charon. I do it to myself. I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"As you wish."

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Something cheap."

"Alright." I grabbed my bag of caps and opened the stall door. Charon followed behind me.

"You don't have to follow me everywhere."

"It's in my contract."

"Fine."

I walked to the counter where Vera's robot stood behind.

"Hello,customer. May I get you anything to eat?"

"Noodles for me." I leaned over to whisper so Charon couldn't hear his order.

I finished the order and sauntered over to the bench with a table.

"Charon, you can sit if you want." I saw no reason why I could sit and he couldn't.

He sat down awkwardly in the small chair. It screeched in protest of his weight.

"So, tell me about yourself. I want to know."

"I have told you everything my contract requires me to say." 

"I'll tell you one thing about me in exchange for one thing about you."

"I'm fine. I don't need to know about you and you don't **want **to know about me."

"Ah. Tough guy act. 'Your daddy's worst nightmare' thing. I see what's going on."

"There is nothing 'going on'. I am not required to inform you of my past.

"Fine, you're such a drama queen. The food's here at least." The robot placed my bowl of noodles and his plate of just about everything down on the table.

"What is this?"

"It's hopefully enough food for you."

"I said something cheap."

"And I said look out for your well-being. Are you complaining that you have too much food?"

"You are spending too much. Save your money from now on."

"I have plenty and what's mine is yours. I want you to know I spoil my girls."

"Funny." He picked up his iguana bits and started to tear off pieces of the meat.

"I'm a fucking comedian. Anyway, we'll be leaving soon. Doctor Li said she knows where my father is."

"I was unaware you were looking for your family."

"He's my only family I have left." I picked at my noodles.

"...What's it like?" Charon shifted uncomfortably.

"What's what like?"

"Family." He had stopped eating completely to just stare at his plate.

"I don't know what mothers are like. Mine died during birth. My dad and I were always really close. Not everyone has a good relationship with their parents. I just got lucky." I found myself thinking of Butch for the first time in weeks.

"What were some things you guys did?"

"He gave me a BB gun for my tenth birthday with parts he found around the vault. He somehow figured out a way to make a cake with no traditional ingredients. I think the thing I took advantage of the most," I paused to let a shaky breath, "was the fact that he was always there for me."

"You're from a vault?"

"Yeah."

'Why did you leave?"

"Dad left to fulfill an old dream and the vault security was trying to kill me. I had to leave behind my friends, my would-be-fiance, and my life. I was just sort of thrown out into the Wastes without food, water, caps, and no knowledge of the world whatsoever."

"Your father never taught you about the Capital?"

"He told me we were born in the fucking vault like everyone else and the whole vault knew but me. Always knew Butch didn't like Dad for reasons besides him spawning me."

"Who's Butch, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, if I told you about him, I'd have to tell you everything after that."

"You don't have to then."

"I need to. I want to feel like shit. Butch was my boyfriend for years before I left the vault. Now that I'm out, I have been fucking every guy I can to forget about my situation. I get piss drunk and I even woke up once with money on the side table. I fuck a new guy every night pretty much to forget Butch. I drink to forget what they're doing to me. And every once in a while when I really feel like shit, I shoot up to forget what I'm doing to myself." I pushed the noodles over to rest my head on the table.

"I'm sorry to hear about your experience out here." He seemed sincere enough.

"I just need another drink. Hey, robot!"

The robot sputtered over to the table. "Yes, ma'am?"

"I need a bottle of whiskey."

"Right away." The robot hovered to the counter talking shit about me the whole way.

He came back with a bottle and I pulled the caps out. I popped the top off and chugged a fourth of the bottle. I slammed it on the table.

"I think I'm just gonna get you your own room. I'm feeling really shitty and I need to do something about it."

"You don't need to do this." Charon's brow was etched in concern.

"Oh, but I do. I want it."

I stood up unsteadily. I stumbled to the counter to pay for Charon's room and walked sloppily out of the room still chugging the bottle.

"It is very unwise to go alone."

"Whatever happens, happens for a reason." I dropped the empty bottle in the can by the stairwell.

"Why are you doing this? And don't tell me because you want it. No one wants what you're doing to yourself."

"I'm doing it because I deserve it." I tripped down the stairs but he caught me by the arm.

"You don't deserve it."

"Leave me alone. Just let me be." My words were slurred all to hell. I shook his arm off me and grabbed onto the hand rail for dear life. I continued down the stairs to the Muddy Rudder.

"It's my duty to ensure you are safe."

I opened the metal door and stumbled to the bar stool closest to the door.

Harkness was sitting next to me and eying Charon from his seat.

"Hello there, I seem to be having some trouble. I think I need a big, strong security guard to help me to my room." I was rubbing Harkness's arm as he gave me an odd look.

"Is he with you?" Harkness asked with curiosity.

"Charon? Yeah, but he should really be getting home." I turned to glare at him.

"Is he bothering you?" Harkness asked as if it was commanded.

"Yes, but he just needs to leave me alone and **go home**."

"Fine. I'll fucking go but I was just doing what I felt I needed to." Charon turned and stomped out of the bar.

"I'm not an idiot, Eleanor. I know what your intentions are."

"I just thought you were like a wall. You didn't seem to be catching a hint."

"I never said that. I was just seeing how far you'd go."

"So you just aren't interested? I can leave you alone if that's what you want." I retracted my arm in case he wanted me to leave.

"I never said I wasn't interested. It's just that you hit on me when you're drunk and it would be wrong to take advantage of you."

"Trust me, I would do it if I was sober. I just get shy. I really want this." I got closer and turned my body to him.

"Are you sure?" He seemed conflicted.

"Very sure." I stood up and he stayed sitting for a few seconds and got up eventually.

"Alright."

I grabbed his hand and led him back up to the room. I pushed the door open and was relieved to find Charon wasn't in here.

Harkness still seemed unsure as he pulled me to him. I pulled his head down to meet my lips. His hands were squeezing me to him. It was almost painful. He was surprisingly strong. That only turned me on more.

I fell back onto the bed and he crawled on top of me. His lips were pressed to my throat, chest, everywhere. I pulled my shirt over my head and he followed my actions. His hand slipped under my bra and his other hand held him above me. I unhooked my bra and his hand trailed up to my jaw. He wasn't bad at all. Soon, we were both naked.

He lifted my hips up and slid in to me with a moan. I dug my nails into his back as he rammed into me at different angles trying to find the right one. After several thrusts, I was gasping from the right spot. He was pushing in faster and harder. I drug my nails down his skin and he was panting into my shoulder.

He sat up and turned me over. He better not be doing what I think he was doing. He pulled me up on my hands and knees and pushed back in. He was picking up the pace quickly. He was thrusting so hard that my face was coming within inches of hitting the wall. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled my head back. His other hand was on my hip for leverage. I was gasping and I knew what was about to happen. He thrust in especially hard and I screamed as I felt intense pleasure flow through me. Each thrust was renewing the pleasure and he pushed into me a final time before pulling out quickly and finishing on my back. He collapsed onto the bed. I grabbed an old cloth and wiped off my back and rolled over to wrap myself around him.

I was about to fall asleep when I heard the door open and realized that I was alone in the bed. I sat up in the bed. I stared into the mirror on the wall. My eye liner was smudged and my hair was mussed up from being pulled.

I swung my legs off the bed and limped to the bathroom. I grabbed the edge of the toilet and violently expelled everything in my stomach. Among the contents were noodles and a lot of whiskey. I wiped my eyes but the tears were still coming. I crawled back to the bed with a tissue and cried myself back to sleep yet again this week.


	13. Bitches Ain't Shit

Sorry for not updating as much as I used to. I'm having problems with the internet and I've been focusing on other things.

P.S. This chapter is from Charon's pov.

Also, check out my friend MatureFetus. They wrote a friendship thing about Charon and Eleanor. It's really good. It's called Companions. While you're at it, read The Weeping Wastes.

* * *

><p>Chapter 13<p>

I slammed the metal door to my metal room on this metal boat. Everything is fucking metal. It was too cramped and smelled like fish.

_That ungrateful little bitch. I guess I know better to help her from now on. _

She wasted her nights drunk and in bed with any disease-riddled rat willing to climb on top of her. She's a disgrace. A waste of flesh and bones. She was destroying herself willingly.

_Who the fuck does she think she is?_

I kicked my boots off angrily and collapsed on the bed. I shut my eyes in an attempt to force myself to go to sleep. Or anything resembling a sleep-like state. An hour passed and I still found myself staring at the mildewed ceiling.

I tossed and turned in bed and stopped when I heard the door to Eleanor's room open and close. The sound was quickly followed with the echoed noise of skin on skin and clothes dropping to the floor and creaking of the bed.

She was at it again and these walls were no help. Every sound here was only amplified. I could hear Eleanor gasping and more creaking.

After several minutes, I heard her whimper. He hurt her.

I was at the door before I even knew it. My hand stopped when I gripped the wheel of the door. _She wouldn't want me to interrupt. I'm only following orders if I stay here. __**Go home**__ were my orders._

I let go of the wheel and climbed back into the too-smell bed. I lay there with my hands over my stomach, staring at the ceiling waiting for it to stop. I could feel my stomach churning at the thought of that man being rough with her. Even him just touching her made me sick. She wanted it. She doesn't want help. I covered my face with the pillow. Maybe that could stop the sounds.

_She needs help._

Eleanor let out a loud groan. Followed by more whimpering._ He didn't even care that he was hurting her?_

The creaking stopped and a thump on the bed was muffled by the walls. After about five minutes, the door open and closed quietly. I could hear the bed creak again as someone got up and stumbled to another part of the room. Someone was vomiting, I could only assume it was Eleanor after all the booze.

I buried my face deeper in the pillow to silence her crying and vomiting. I sighed exasperatedly as I swung my legs off the bed and opened the door. I made the short walk to her door. I knocked once and heard nothing. I opened the door cautiously and entered the room when nothing was thrown at me.

"I don't want to hear it, Charon. I know what you're going to say." Her voice was muffled by the pillow.

I knelt down by the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped at the touch and pulled back. It must have been a pretty long time since she was touched in a friendly way.

"He hurt you."

She was silent for a second before nodding into the pillow.

"I can do whatever you want at the snap of your fingers, Eleanor."

"You don't need to do that. I wanted it."

I thought for a moment before speaking. "No one wants that."

She looked up from the pillow. Her eyeliner was smudged and her pretty face was red and streaked with tears. Her odd pink hair was mussed up and looked like she'd been yanked by her hair.

"You don't have to be nice. I know you're just waiting to say that you told me so." She rested her head on her hands.

I pulled out a rag from my pockets and wiped at her face with little protest. "I will not say anything like that. I wanted to, but I heard you two. You weren't really enjoying it. He hurt you and didn't even care."

She sniffled. "Yeah, I think I'm really fucking stupid. I let him do it."

"No. People like that are sick. It's called rape, Eleanor. You were drunk and he was only trying to get what he wanted."

"It's not rape if I wanted it in the first place."

"At any point, did you want to stop?" Could she really think she wanted to get hurt?

She looked down in shame. "Yeah."

"I need to get you out of here. We're leaving at dawn."

"Alright." She mumbled. She wouldn't look at me.

"Is there anything I can get you?"

She hugged her pillow tightly.

"Do you want me to stay with you," I paused for a moment, "Elle?"

She smiled and nodded, but still didn't look at me. I sat in the seat next to her bed.

"You don't have to sit in the chair if you don't want to. I know it's uncomfortable." She whispered gingerly.

"I was unsure if you wanted me so close."

"Please lay with me." She blurted out. Her eyes widened at her own words. "I'm sorry. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

I crawled into bed with her without hesitation. I settled under the blankets with her. She curled up next to me and I placed my arm around her gently. She nuzzled into my neck.

"I'm sorry I was a bitch earlier." She whispered into my neck.

"Sorry I was intruding on your business."

"You were just looking out for me." Her breath was hot on my neck. "I'll try to be less slutty."

"I can help you if you just let me." I looked over to meet her stare.

"Alright." She leaned in and pressed her lips to mine gently.

"Alright." I looked up at the ceiling, barely containing a grin.

"Goodnight, Charon." She mumbled, already half asleep.

"Goodnight, Elle."

* * *

><p>"Eleanor, I need you to get up. We need to get going soon. You must eat first."<p>

"Guh mornin" She mumbled drowsily. She rubbed her eyes and rolled over.

I sighed and shook her shoulder. "Wake up!"

She shot up. "What do you fucking want, Charon?"

I was taken by surprise by her harsh words. I guess the liquor was what made her less frigid. "We must go, Mistress."

"God dammit, stop calling me that. What happened to calling me 'Elle'?" She asked with a sly grin.

I paused at the look she gave me. "So you do remember what happened last night?"

"Well, not really. I remember bits and pieces. Do you know why I'm so damn sore?" She adjusted her sitting position.

"You were drunk and brought the security guard home." I answered flatly.

"That explains a lot. But, where is he? I'm usually the one who wakes up early to ditch." She gave me a poorly hidden pained expression. My stomach twisted at the thought of her hurt.

"He left after you two were... finished. You didn't take it well." I fiddled with the strap on my bag to find something to take my mind off the look she gave me.

"Oh, well, I didn't really like him anyway. Besides, I already have someone else." She looked up from her lap at me.

_Someone else? I should have known better. I never stood a chance._

I stood up abruptly and slung my bag over my shoulder. "We need to leave."

I walked to the door and didn't turn around before leaving the room. I stopped in front of my door and let out a breath I'd been holding.

_I'm not enough._


	14. To Be Yours

Chapter 14: To be yours

The fog rested over the water and the wasteland seemed to be asleep. Everything looked so serene. For once, the outside was calm. The sky was gray and muggy. The only sounds were the river water gently splashing against the rocks and bow of the ship.

I sat down gently on the deck with my legs dangling over the edge. A sharp pain jolted through my body and I adjusted my sitting position.

Harkness really gave it to me. And left. That was my job. I was a real asshole to Charon last night. I should find a way to make it up to him.

Charon exited the market with a bowl of cereal. He handed it to me wordlessly.

"Thank you, Charon."

He grunted in response. Something was definitely up with him. He hasn't made eye contact and he refuses to say anything besides one word answers. I was losing him.

"What's wrong, Charon? You've been acting funny ever since we left the room."

"Nothing." He replied.

I took a bite of my cereal. He was being childish. "Clearly there's something going on."

"No." He snapped.

"Fine, if you wanna be like that, you can be. Be an asshole." I took another bite of my cereal.

"We need to get going, mis-" he paused momentarily, "Eleanor."

I glared at him from my bowl of cereal. "Yeah."

I quickly finished my bowl and stood up to give it back to Gary. Charon reached for the bowl.

"I'll get."

"No, I shall take it."

I looked up at him and failed at trying to intimidate him. He stared at me with hard eyes.

"I said I will get it. I can do things for myself."

"Are you implying that you no longer need my services?" He asked with a hint of something besides irritation.

"I never said that. You know I wouldn't give your contract to someone." I reasoned.

He was quiet for a moment. I couldn't read his face but something about his eyes seemed to be asking something.

"Permission to ask a question?"

"You know you don't need my permission for anything."

"Why don't you want to sell my contract?"

"Well," I started, "I don't want to risk you ending up with another Ahzrukhal. You don't deserve to be treated like that ever again. There are really shitty people that I feel I need to protect you from. I think of our relationship as 'I protect you and you protect me'." I smiled up at him.

His brows knit together in confusion. "You want to protect me?"

"Well, duh. You are mine. I am yours."

"You... are mine?" He whispered. It was more to himself than it was to me.

"Yeah. I am yours and you can't do a damn thing about it."

"You are my employer. I don't own you."

"Well then, I think there is something that needs to be done here."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

I need to find some paper and a pen. I grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the market place. People moved out of our way and I rushed past the various shops and dropped the bowl on the counter as we past Gary's Galley. I rushed up the stairs and into the stairwell.

"Where are we going? I can't properly protect you with you pulling me through a boat."

"I have an idea and I think you will like it."

"What are you doing?" He asked as I tugged him through the halls and into the Capital Preservation room.

"Abraham, do you have any pens and paper I can use?"

"Well, I think I may have some somewhere around here. Why?"

I pushed Charon out of the room and locked the door. He banged on the door in protest and yelled about protecting me but I was already down the stairs and looking for paper.

"I'm making a contract. Charon has one so I think it would be fair if I had one."

"Are you crazy? You are willingly becoming a slave!" Abraham said shaking me by the shoulders.

"Shh, do you want the whole ship to hear you? I know what I am doing. Charon would never let my contract fall into the wrong hands. He'll protect me."

"You really are crazy."

"Can I have a pen?" I pulled a sheet of yellowed paper out from an old filing cabinet.

Abraham pulled back from me and pushed me up the stairs. "I am not going to let you hand your body over under my roof."

"Fine, I'll find someone else." I opened the door and slammed in shut to find Charon angrily kicking a potted plant.

"What are you doing?"

"I couldn't break the door so the plant had to take it."

"Don't be a plant bully. That plant may have a bad home life."

He glared at me and noticed my paper. "What's this?"

"I have half of the things I need. I need a pen."

I rummaged through the old suitcases in the hallway and came up empty. I explored the room adjacent and looked through the cabinets and desks. My fingers wrapped around something and I pulled it out. A pink pen with white hearts on it and engraving that read "Be my Valentine".

I dropped my arm on the nearest desk and slid the junk off with one swipe. I got to writing after a few minutes of trying to get the ink to run. Charon tried looking over my shoulder once and I swatted him away.

"Don't peek, cheater."

"I was just wondering what you were writing. How is this cheating if I don't even know what you are doing?"

I wrote a few more paragraphs out and signed the bottom left corner and left a blank on the left for him. I cut my finger with my pocket knife and dripped blood on the paper next to my name.

"What did you just do?" Charon wrenched my hand towards him and wrapped my finger in his shirt.

"I wrote a thing out." I handed him the contract with a smile.

"What is this?" He mumbled to himself as he read through it. When he was done reading it, his hand dropped to his side and he stared blankly.

"You should sign that so no one else does." I pointed at the blank.

"You do not know what you are asking."

"I know exactly what I am asking, Charon. I was being serious about being yours. Now I am yours in the same way that you are mine."

"You are insane."

"But now you have to deal with it. I am yours, Charon." I wrapped my arms around him gently.

"I can't believe you did this." He pulled me closer to him and crushed me with his massive arms.

"I think you should sign it." I mumbled into his chest.

"I shall." He let go of me and leaned over the desk to sign the contract.

"I wrote it the way so you are the only one who can hold my contract."

"I know, smoothskin." He stood up and tucked the paper into his bag.

"I am yours, Charon."

"And I am yours, Eleanor."

* * *

><p>"Oh Jesus Mother Mary. Fuck this place so much!"<p>

The Jefferson Memorial was so crowded with mutants that you couldn't turn a corner without hearing about how much they wanted to eat you. It was like Jack and the Beanstalk.

"You like that?" Charon hollered from behind a desk. He chucked a frag grenade over the edge and it landed to my left.

"Oh shit!" I grabbed it and hurled it over my head towards a group of mutants. It exploded in the air around their heads.

I turned to glare at Charon whose face was a mix of shock and shame.

"I should have been more careful. I am sorry."

"We can talk about it later. We need to clean this place out." I rounded the corner to see the wall dripping with mutant chunks. They were all missing heads and upper torsos.

Charon followed me down the halls and in to the basement. He pushed me against the wall and led the way into a room full of bunk beds. He readied his shotgun and sneaked over to the door to the left. The roaring of a mutant alerted several others and before I knew it, I hit the wall far to the right. I reached for my side and felt a large rough hand on my arm pull me up painfully and throw me at Charon.

Charon rolled me over and on to the floor and everything was hazy. Loud thumping and gunshots and screaming filled my rushing ears. After several minutes of fighting, the edges of my vision were fading to black. Large hands picked me up from off the ground and carried me. I couldn't see or hear anything but what I could feel was a soft mattress under me.

A sharp needle brought me to my senses and I could feel someone shaking my face and I could hear them calling my name. The voice was raspy and panicked. Something lay below the surface of that voice.

"Eleanor! Wake up!"

I opened my eyes slowly to find Charon very blurry and there were three of him.

"Why are there so many of you?" I asked groggily.

"What are you talking about? You need to see a doctor." He injected me with another stimpak.

"I should be fine. You're here."

"No, you won't be fine. We need to go back to Rivet City." He picked me up and carried me out of the basement.

"No. I don't want to go back there." I whined.

"What? Why not?"

"I don't want to see Harkness ever again."

"I'll make sure of it."


	15. Talon Tussle

Told from Charon's pov today.

* * *

><p>Chapter 15: Talon Tussle<p>

I held her to my chest tightly. She was definitely concussed and had some internal bleeding. She whimpered in my arms. I shoved the door to the main area open and sprinted towards the exit. She was getting heavier with each passing second.

She clung to my shirt in pain and fear. Tears flowed freely. My feet stomped loudly along the metal stairs up to the bridge. Harkness stood at the end of the bridge. He held his rifle up.

"Put that the fuck down. I need the doctor." I covered her from his sight so she didn't have to see him.

"Take the stairwell. Is she alright?"

"You didn't care if she was okay last night. I'll deal with you later." I glared at him.

I pushed the door open and ran through the next door to my left. I ran through the halls loudly and turned every corner until I found a door to a clinic.

"I need the doctor."

A man with gray hair stared at me gruffly. "Just put her down on the bed. I'll get to her."

"She was hit with a super sledge. She needs help immediately."

Eleanor shifted in my arms. "Don't leave me, Charon. Please?"

I held her face in my hands. "I'm not going to leave you, smoothskin."

"There's only so much room in here, shuffler." The doctor barked.

I glared at him from the gurney. "I'm not leaving her."

He pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He pointed to the other side of the room. "Fine, bastard. But stay on that side."

I shifted my gaze to Eleanor. She looked up with tears streaming down her face and her lips parted slightly. "I'll just be over there. I'm not leaving you."

She nodded hesitantly. I rubbed my thumb over her cheek, wiping away a tear. I stood up with a grunt and moved to the chair on the other side of the room.

She didn't take her eyes off me for a second. I was too worried to look away. As if I looked away just once, she would disappear.

This was a new feeling for an employer. For anything. I was afraid for once in my life. Afraid I would lose her. Afraid the wasteland would lose its savior. Eleanor wouldn't find her dad.

I was slipping. My programming has deteriorated over the last two centuries to the point that I allowed her to get into this situation.

_This was my fault._

Her breathing slowed as the doctor worked. She never took her eyes off me. Not even once. She blinked every so often and they were quick. My hands grew clammy as the guilt got the best of me.

"Elle, I'm so sorry. I should have seen that mutant coming."

She coughed once before speaking. "You aren't my baby sitter. I should have been paying attention."

"But I let you get hurt. Do you know how much that goes against the contract?"

"When have I ever cared about that damn contract, Charon?"

"I..." She never wanted to talk about the contract. I don't even know why she purchased it.

"You don't have to beat yourself up for my recklessness."

My heart beat faster as I run the question over in my head over and over. I would have to ask her later. The doctor grumbled as he finished wrapping her head in gauze.

"Are you finished, doctor?"

"Is she bleeding, zombie?"

Eleanor wrapped her thin fingers around his wrist and twisted. "Why are you so rude?"

He yelped and gripped her arm. I was behind him in less than a second. I wrenched his arms behind him.

"Don't. Touch. Her." I growled into his ear.

He let go of her and I pushed him to the side. I was at Eleanor's side immediately.

"I know you wanted to get out of here quickly. We can leave after you get better."

Her face twisted. "I can't stay here any longer. Please just pay this asshole and get me out of here."

"I don't think-"

"Charon, please?" Eleanor looked up with her big blue eyes. It was going to be impossible to resist her.

"It's not wise."

"Then protect me." She slipped her hand into mine.

I ran my thumb over her smooth fingers. They were so small. "I would be putting you in danger if we left."

"We can go back to Underworld. The metro was cleared out, remember?" Her eyes were hopeful.

"I... uh," I sighed, "I guess so. You need to do what I say though so I can keep you safe."

She smiled brightly and tugged on my hand to pull me closer. "Thank you. I need to get the fuck out of here. The caps are in my bag. Left pocket in the front."

"How much is it?" I sneered at the doctor.

"Fifty caps. And I think everyone would agree if I asked for you to not come back here."

Eleanor scoffed. "Good. Your clinic is shit anyway."

"I meant the city, you brat."

"Thank god. I was looking for an excuse not to come back to this rusting bucket of piss." Eleanor giggled.

I helped her up and fished out the caps. I counted them and dumped them on the floor by the doctor's feet one by one while keeping eye contact.

"Let's go, Eleanor. It smells like fish here."

I threw her bag over my shoulder and offered her my shoulder. She took it delightedly. The walk to the outside was quick. Eleanor kept glancing at me and giggling. Harkness was off duty. Lucky for him.

"What's so funny?"

"You're too good to me." She replied.

My cheeks warmed up at the statement. "What do you mean by that?"

"You stick up for me even when everyone else is shitting on you."

"They can say whatever they want about me, but I won't allow them to talk that way about you."

"Why? The contract only requires my safety. Nothing else." A small smile graced her lips.

I was quiet for a moment. "I don't know."

"You don't know? Or you don't want to tell me?"

"Both." I raised a brow at her.

Eleanor clung to my arm for dear life as we made our way down the stairs. The metal shook unsteadily with every step. Making our way to the metro, I could see a group of people coming out of the gates in black combat armor.

"Elle, stay behind me." I warned her.

"What? Why?"

"Talon. Get back to the stairs." I pulled my shotgun over my shoulder.

"Who are they?" She asked in a panicked tone.

"I said _get to the stairs_." I hissed.

The man in front of the group held up a hand for his men to stop and pointed.

_Shit._

"Is this Eleanor Whick?" The front man asked.

"No, her name is Rose Lynd. Look elsewhere. We don't want any trouble."

"Stuff it, ghoul. She matches our description of her. So we'll just do this anyway." They drew their guns and fired wildly.

Two shots later, one man lay on the ground headless. I grabbed my shoulder where a bullet nicked me and quickly reloaded my gun. A man ran at me with a knife next. I like a challenge.

I ducked as the man rushed past me. I reached for his arm and shoved my elbow into his back with a yell. He fell to the ground and I dug my knee into his spine. I grabbed both wrists and shoved them forward behind his back. A sickening crack filled the air followed by a shrill scream.

I looked up to see the last man struggling to reload his rifle. He looked up in fear. His hands shook violently as he tried to rush himself. As I stepped off the man on the ground, I caught a glimpse of Eleanor sprinting towards the man with arms outstretched.

"Eleanor, get the fuck back!" I saw the pin hit the ground before the grenade dropped.

"Oh shit!" Eleanor yelled as she turned around.

She slipped in the dirt and fell on her stomach. She kicked at the dirt in an attempt to crawl away. The man reached for her ankle. I fired and his hand exploded. He screamed and fell onto the grenade. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward.

Everything went white as a loud boom and then ringing filled my ears. I looked around frantically for Eleanor. All I saw was smoke.

I coughed and shot my hand to the ground. I fumbled around in the smoke until it cleared. Eleanor was on the ground with her hands over her ears.

I crawled to her and shook her violently. She turned to look at me with wide eyes. She threw her arms around me tightly. She pulled back to say something but all I could hear was ringing.

I shook my head at her. "I can't hear anything."

Her brow furrowed as she pulled her hand back from behind my neck. It was covered in blood. She stood up and walked behind me. I turned my head and growled as a hot pain flowed through my body.

She walked back to face me with her hand over her mouth and shaking her head. She ran to the bag on the ground and yanked out a stimpak. She moved to inject it but I stopped her. She would seal the shrapnel in and waste a stimpak when there was irradiated water right by.

Her eyes widened with understanding. She pulled out tweezers and got to working on my neck. A stabbing sensation shot up my back with every poke, pull, and prod of the tweezers. She tapped me on the shoulder and gave a thumbs up. She picked up the stimpak and I grabbed her wrist before she stabbed me with it. She gave me a confused look.

I stood up unsteadily and limped to the river. She followed me and offered her arm. I shook it. "River."

Her mouth formed an "o". She helped me down the slope of the bank and into the shallow water. Warmth flowed through me as the radiation seeped into my skin.

After several minutes of standing knee-deep in the water, I waded out of the water with heavy legs. Hopefully, the radiation helped my hearing.

"Are you okay now?" Eleanor's voice filled my ears.

"Much better."


	16. Tunnel of Terrors

Chapter 16: Tunnel of Terrors

The gates of the metro screeched loudly. I walked toe to heel on the long crack in the pavement. I needed something to get my mind off the fact that Talon had just tried to kill me.

"What are you doing?" Charon scoffed.

I looked over my shoulder. The light shined behind him creating a perfect silhouette. I smiled up at him and returned to walking on the crack. "I'm walking along the line."

"You're going to get yourself hurt yet again." He grumbled.

"Loosen up a little. It's fun." I glanced at him again. "You should try it."

"That's ridiculous."

I spun around on my toes. He stopped abruptly to give me a confused stare.

"It's fun, Charon. Come on." I smiled again. His face relaxed a little. "Please, for me?"

He sighed loudly. "Fine."

He placed one foot in front of the other slowly on the crack. He raised his arms out for balance. He stumbled slightly. I grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.

"What are you doing, smoothskin?"

"Helping you out. You looked like you were about to fall."

"I can handle myself, Eleanor."

"That's not what I saw outside." I flashed a sly grin.

"That's because you went at him like a fucking crazy person." He pointed his finger in my face.

"I was just trying to help. He was going to throw that grenade at you." My shoulders sagged slightly.

"I don't need your help." He shook my hand off of his. He stormed past me. "I'm supposed to protect you but you keep doing bat shit insane things like that."

I stayed standing there facing the gate. "I just... wanted to help."

"Don't start that shit. That was incredibly stupid. How am I supposed to protect you when you keep literally fucking throwing yourself into dangerous situations." His footsteps were getting fainter.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." My voice was barely a whisper. I glanced toward his direction. He was gone. "Charon?"

No answer.

"Charon?" I called out louder.

I ran into the concourse and searched around frantically. He was no where in sight. I leaned over the railing but it was too dark to see.

Big arms wrapped around me tightly. I screamed and bit down on their arm.

"Motherfucker!" They threw me down.

"Charon?"

"Why the _fuck_ did you _bite_ me?" He held his arm and glared at me.

"Why did you not answer me?" I matched his glare.

"You wanna know why? How did you feel when you didn't see me?"

"I felt scared and alone. I thought you were going to leave me."

"That's how I fucking feel every time you do something stupid." He let his arm go. His hands were flying in the air as he spoke. "Do you finally understand how that affects me? Do you even care about me? Am I just some fucking shield for you?"

A lump was forming in my throat. My own body betrayed me when I let out a choked sob.

"You're such an asshole!" I turned on my heel and ran down the stairs and into the train tunnels.

I ran until my legs burned. Until my chest felt like it would explode. I could hear his loud footsteps somewhere far behind me. I turned the upcoming corner into what looked like an equipment room. I squeezed in between the back wall and the side of a shelf. A metal box covered most of me. I pulled my feet in as close as I could. I held my breath as I heard him run past the room. Tears streamed down my face freely. I wiped them away quickly.

* * *

><p>It seemed like an eternity before I felt I could come out from behind the shelf. I carefully pulled myself out of the small space. My footsteps were nearly silent. Nearly.<p>

**CLUNK.**

_Shit._

I dared to look down and saw a tin can rolling out of the doorway. A door opened abruptly down the tunnel. I was so fucked. Maybe if I ran back to the concourse, I could find another store room.

I took my chances and slid behind the door. I could see his shadow stop in front of the can. He growled and kicked it down the tunnel.

I held my breath again. I was certain he could hear my heartbeat. His shadow grew as he got closer into the room. I shut my eyes tightly. My shoulders shook as I began to cry again. When I opened my eyes again, Charon stood in front of me with an almost murderous look.

I gasped in surprise. I ducked and tried to run for it under his arm. He grabbed my collar and yanked me back. I coughed when he let go and grabbed my wrists. I looked around for any way out. I pushed off of him but he didn't budge.

"Charon! I'm sorry!" I twisted in his grasp. "Please don't hurt me!" I sobbed loudly.

He dropped me and his arms fell to his sides. I fell on my back and the air forced its way out of my lungs. I kicked the ground as I crawled away from him frantically. "Charon, please don't kill me!" I pleaded.

He knelt down and touched my arm. I flinched under his touch. He pulled his hand away quickly.

"You're scared of me." His voice was shaky.

I nodded quickly, I wiped at my face. I choked out a sob. "Please don't hurt me anymore, Charon. Please. I'm sorry I ran. You were really scaring me." I begged.

"Oh my god." He backed away from me in horror. He looked panicked as he stood up. He slid his hands over his face as he stumbled to the side of the tunnel wall.

I watched him closely from the ground. I sniffled and wiped my eye with my sleeve. He looked at me from in between his fingers. He punched the wall and I jumped.

He slammed the back of his head into the wall. He clenched his eyes close and hit the wall again. I crawled away towards the other wall.

"Charon, stop that." I pleaded.

He hit his head again even harder. Dust was falling behind him. The wall was dripping with blood.

"Charon. Stop!" He was scaring me even more than earlier.

He hit his head more frequently and with more momentum than the last with every hit. He wouldn't be able to go on for much longer. I struggled to climb to my feet and I cautiously moved toward him in his stupor.

Once I was within arms-length, he opened his eyes wide and stilled. I jumped back in surprise. I held my breath once again. When he didn't move, I reached for him.

"Charon?"

"What, Eleanor?" He rested his head back and slid down the wall to the floor.

"What the hell was that?"

He looked up at me with hope and shame. "I knew you wouldn't punish me, so I did it myself. I scared you, drove you off, hurt you. When you looked at me from the ground... when you were begging me not to kill you... I was a monster in your eyes." He rested his head in his hands. "I really am a monster. I can understand if you sold my contract. It is... for the best."

I sighed and sat down next to him. I laid my head on his arm. "I'm not going to sell your contract."

"I hurt you. I'm a monster." His voice was muffled. "Just put me down. Please."

"Look at me. Right now." I took his face in my hands. "I'm not going to sell the contract and I'm not going to kill you. You have my contract, too. What would I do without a contract holder?"

He shook his head. "I don't understand you at all."

"The day you understand me is the day I need to change things up a little." I giggled.

"I'm sorry I overreacted before. I'm sorry I scared you. I'm sorry for chasing you. I'm so fucking sorry for hurting you. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright. I shouldn't have ignored your orders." I leaned against him.

"I just wanted you to understand how it made me feel when you willingly go into those situations. I didn't mean for it to turn into this."

"I forgive you if you forgive me for all the stupid shit I've done."

He looked over to me. His eyes gleamed in the light of my pipboy. They asked unspoken questions.

I climbed into his lap gently. I settled in and nuzzled into his neck. He hesitated before wrapping his arms around me tightly.

"Do you forgive me, Charon?" I closed my eyes as my lids grew heavy with sleep.

He pressed his cheek into the top of my head. He ran a hand through my hair tenderly. "I forgive you. Forgive me for everything I've done to you? And you need to stay up. Have you forgotten about your concussion?"

"I forgive you. And fine. I'm really tired though."

"I know." He nuzzled my messy hair. "I never knew hair could be this soft."

My cheeks warmed up. "I never knew you could be so gentle."

"We're both full of surprises I guess."

"Hey, Charon?"

"Yeah, smoothskin?"

"Sorry I bit you."

He chuckled. "I forgive you."


	17. Oops

Chapter 17: Oops

Charon had allowed himself to rest for the time being. His chest rose under my head and his slow heartbeat was like a lullaby. His arms pressed me against him and for once, I felt like I belonged.

I belonged in this metro, in this spot, in his arms. I belonged with him. Despite terrifying the shit out of me just half an hour ago, he truly cared for me. And I cared for him.

My eyelids grew heavier with every passing second. I couldn't sleep in this condition though. Sleep seemed like such a comfort now. I forced my eyes open and pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes.

"Is everything alright, Eleanor?" Charon asked sleepily.

"I'm really tired. I know, I know, I can't sleep."

"We should get moving then if you need to."

"I really don't want to, though. I want to stay right her with you." I yawned.

"As appealing as that sounds, health comes before happiness."

I slid off his lap and stretched with a groan. "Sure."

He stood up and dusted his pants off.

"Oh come on. I know I'm a filthy slut but I didn't think I was that filthy." I grinned.

"That's not funny. That's still an issue that you need to work on."

"Yeah, I know. Come on. I want to go to Megaton. We'll just have to do Jefferson Memorial some other day."

"What about your father?"

"Fuck him. He left me there in that fucking vault so he could go fuck Dr. Li or some shit. I guess I know where his loyalties lie."

"Eleanor, you don't mean that."

"I don't. I'm just still really pissed off at him." I slung my bag over my shoulder and followed him down the tunnels.

Once back in the concourse, I felt a wave of nausea hit me. I doubled over the railing.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I feel really sick suddenly." I held my hair up and jerked forward as I gagged.

Charon took my hair and I grabbed the rails for support. After my stomach was empty, I wiped my mouth with a cough.

"Damn, smoothskin." Charon used his sleeve to wipe my tears away.

"I feel like shit."

"You need to eat now." He dug into my bag and produced a box of Dandy Boy Apples.

I smiled and thanked him. I ripped the box open and shoveled the dried fruit into my mouth greedily. I slouched over again and proceeded to vomit up the apples.

"This isn't fucking fair!" I kicked a can.

"There is something wrong. We should go to Underworld and get you checked out by Barrows." Charon patted my back lightly.

"Okay," I mumbled under my breath.

The walk was very uneventful. The raiders had been cleared out weeks ago and nothing seemed to want to inhabit it. The gates screeched and Charon held it open for me.

"Chivalry isn't dead. It was just a ghoul." I smiled and poked him in the side.

He flinched from the poke. "Don't do that."

My brow lifted. "Do what? This?" I poked his side again.

He snorted but stood up quickly with a stern expression. "Stop."

I smiled mischievously and threw my hands at both of his sides and squeezed my fingers.

He jerked violently, laughing and snorting. "Fucking stop!"

I halted and threw my arms around his waist. I buried my face into his chest.

"Fuck you, Eleanor." He wrapped his arms around me protectively and squeezed me. He leaned into my ear. "I'm so going to get you when you aren't expecting."

"Alright, Charon." I nuzzled into his chest and inhaled his scent. He smelled of copper and leather.

"What are you doing?"

"At the risk of sounding creepy, I think you smell good."

"That's a first. Anyway, we need you to go get checked out." He let go of me and rested his hand on the small of my back, leading me into Underworld and ignoring Willow's stares.

He pushed past anyone stupid enough to get in the way. He opened the door quietly and we slipped into the clinic. Barrows looked up from his clipboard and his eyes widened.

"Eleanor, it's nice to see you again. Charon is taking good care of you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm here to be seen actually. I think I might be sick."

"Ah, yes. Take a seat."

I sat down on the gurney and clasped my hands together.

"Alright, Eleanor. What is going on here today?"

"Well, Charon and I were in Anacostia when I got really nauseous. I threw up and then Charon gave me some apples to eat and I immediately threw those up too."

"And you say it was very sudden?"

"Yeah, there wasn't any radiation there either. I haven't eaten anything questionable since I got out of the vault."

"Have you been around anyone that was sick?"

"Not that I know of."

He bit his pen and wrote something down. "I'm going to ask you some other questions. Personal stuff. If you feel uncomfortable with sharing that information directly to me, I can have Graves ask you them. Charon doesn't have to be in here either."

Charon glared at him. "I'm staying."

He cleared his throat. "I believe it's all in Eleanor's comfort."

"He can stay. And you can ask the questions."

"Alright. Here we go, first question is" he paused, "are you sexually active?"

"Hell yeah. Next question."

Charon was glaring daggers at him.

"Well, do you use any form of protection?"

My face heated in shame. "No. I don't even know where to look for it."

"You might want to start looking from now on." He wrote on his clipboard. "Next question: would you feel comfortable enough to tell me how many times you've had unprotected sex since you've been out of the vault?"

My head drooped down and I started counting off on my fingers. Charon seemed to get angrier with every finger lifted. I glanced at him and his anger visibly melted into pity. I mouthed 'I'm so sorry.'

"If I can remember correctly, I would have to say around twelve times." I mumbled.

"Same person?" He asked with concern.

"All different guys." I bit my lip and looked away in shame.

"It's okay, Eleanor. No one here is judging you." He scribbled something on the clipboard.

"Last question: when was the first day of your last period?"

"I think it was the eighth of last month." I looked at my pipboy to check the date. "Oh fuck."

"I think I would need to run some blood work before I can give you any definite answers."

"But what do you think is wrong with me? Why do you need blood samples?"

"I'm not going to say anything until I know for sure. I'm not going to get you panicked in case it happens to be something else."

"Oh my god." I whispered. I threw my head into my hands.

"Barrows, can we have a word outside?" Charon asked through gritted teeth.

"As you wish." He opened the door and he and Charon stepped out.

The room was silent except for my quiet sobs. Graves sat in the uncomfortable silence.

"I'm sorry you're in this situation, smoothskin. How old are you?"

"Nineteen!" I choked out loudly.

She jumped from my tone. "Oh god. This is going to be hard for you. You do understand that there are...other options, yes?"

I looked up from my hands. "I'm not going to do that. I would never be able to live with myself."

Graves pulled out a rag and handed it to me. "You should use this."

I took it gratefully. "Thank you, Graves."

"It's the least I could do right now."

Charon opened the door and avoided my eyes. Barrows slid into the room behind him with his clipboard broken.

"We should take the samples now. The sooner, the better." Barrows pulled out a needle.

"Charon, hold my hand. I don't like needles." He took my hand gently.

Barrows wrapped a belt around my arm and stuck the needle in. My face twisted and I squeezed Charon's hand tightly. After several seconds of pain, the needle was gone and replaced with a bandage.

I stood up from the gurney and fell into Charon's arms. He lifted me back up to my feet.

"I need rest. Please bring me to Carol's." I begged.

Charon nodded and looked over to Barrows.

"I should have the results by tomorrow afternoon." Barrows said sadly.

"Okay. Let's go, Elle." Charon held the door for me and I stumbled out of the clinic.

"I'm so scared, Charon." I said barely above a whisper.

"I know you are, smoothskin. I am too."


End file.
